About an hour on a bus 
south of Quito, there are two mountains called Ilinizas, two peaks of the same mountain really, north, and south. We set out to climb Ilinizas north, or norte, since it can be climbed with 
little experience and a guide is optional (we opted n
ot to have one). The Ilinizas mountains used to be 
one big mountain, but has since imploded on itself...
south of Quito, there are two mountains called Ilinizas, two peaks of the same mountain really, north, and south. We set out to climb Ilinizas north, or norte, since it can be climbed with 
little experience and a guide is optional (we opted n
ot to have one). The Ilinizas mountains used to be 
one big mountain, but has since imploded on itself...The plan was to climb to the "refuge", which turned out to be a shack with no electricity or a fire, just a propane stove and a perpetually boiling vat of water (a lifesaver!), spend the night in the shack, get up at 4 or 5, and do the summit the next day... as fate would have it, one of our climbing partners got sick that night, so we decided not to summit. We did make it above 15,000 feet though.
I love these pictures! It's like a whole part of the planet I've never seen before. The mountains & clouds are so dramatic; and the sky is such a deep blue. Bert - what is the colorful small blanket on your head? I also love the pictures of the plants. So different.. .
ReplyDeleteIt is made of Alpaca, it's not really that small the bulk of it is wrapped around my body to try to keep some warmth... These blankets are all over the markets down here..
ReplyDeleteEileen, one of your best pictures. I like it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dad :)
ReplyDelete